My Home, My Konoha
by Kaiser Wilhelm
Summary: AU. Until I transfered into Konoha Township High School, I considered myself to be unique. I thought I could only trust my siblings. I thought I was the only one like me out there. I was wrong. M for future chapters
1. Home is where the heart is

Yeah, for the sake of realism, Konoha is officially located in the Midwest of the U.S. And that would mean that Suna is around Arizona or New Mexico…yeah….that general area. Fair Enough? Okay, I'm going to answer a few questions you might have. OCs? Ok, maybe a couple just to illustrate the fact that this is in fact a high school, but don't fret about it. OOCness? Possibly, but that's for you to decide based on your interpretation of the characters. Sex? Definitely, but later, once characters develop. If you have issues with it, then by all means let me know, and I'll warn you before hand. I like to explore different things while writing, so expect gay and straight relationships. Violence? Yes. No question about that. Cliché? Probably. Alright. Review if you feel inspired to, but, most of all, have fun.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. (Sorry, all of my fun disclaimers are in my other Naruto fic, Bird-boy. Keep a look out for it. I'll post it ...someday).

There was a park a few blocks from Konoha Township High School. A place I found myself flocking to often, even in the winter months. My sanctuary. Home of the first friend I ever made in Konoha. She was shy. She always told me how surprised she was at her own boldness since _she_ called _me_ out. Her kindness knew no bounds. That winter's morning in Konoha, when I met her, remains unforgettable.

Never assume that desert and temperate climates are anything alike. I learned that lesson the hard way my sophomore year. When I arrived in Konoha, it had been late at night. Nights are cold in the desert; it was nothing I wasn't used to. But in the desert, the moment the sun peaks out from its hiding place on the horizon, the entire world overflows with warmth. There, like no other place, can you truly see the influence of the sun. The Earth as it awakens. There's no place like home.

Winter in Konoha meant cold mornings, cold afternoons, and colder evenings. That soft, gentle feeling as the warmth slowly enveloped you, as the shadows of the night slowly receded in the wake of the sunrise, did not exist in this place. This new environment. This city I could not yet call home.

The soft crunching of the snow beneath my feet. The white powder as it veiled the trees, concealed the ground. There was grass here. In the spring, this place would be green. Flowers here would be common. It would rain. Different. Where had my home gone? Where was my sand? Would I ever see the rare beauty of a desert flower again? A strangeness in the pit of my stomach took hold of me. I wanted to cry for the first time in many years.

I wandered around this unfamiliar place. Through this unfamiliar park. I knew that I would be late, but the world suddenly seemed so much bigger. The universe had suddenly expanded. School, tardiness, mere subjective concepts. Inconsequential. I was alone in the universe. I let myself fall against a nearby tree. Yet, another reminder of my solitude. Of my distance from home. I wanted the majesty of the desert sunrise. I wanted to return to the place in which I belonged.

_"Why are you crying?" _came the soft murmur of a girl's voice. Quiet and sounding far away, I closed my eyes and let it fill me. The soft caress of comfort embraced me. I knew this feeling. I lightly fingered my cheeks, feeling the fresh moisture as it rolled down them. She was right; I had been crying. _"Are you new around here?"_ she continued. The tender voice echoed in my mind, not my ears. For the first time since arriving in this town, I smiled.

I picked myself off the snowy ground. It was like I was a child again. This is how I met my first friends in Suna after all. I approached the owner of the voice, taking my sweet time. Once again, the universe expanded. School did not matter anymore. Time did not matter. I could go at my own pace. Though I did not actually hear the voice, I knew where it came from. Just a feeling. I emerged from the small patch of forest to find serenity.

The snow seemed untouched, freshly fallen. Swings, two slides, a ladder and stairs, platforms. A playground like the ones back in Suna. I felt my inner child rise within me. The snow covered it all. The owner of the voice was definitely here. I knelt down near the swing set, and brushed the layer of frost from the ground. I knew that she, too, was obscured by the pure white depth. After a fair amount of digging, she appeared before me.

_"You found me,"_ she beamed. For some reason, I felt like crying again, but I chose to hold it back.

"Hello," I greeted.

_"And good day to you. It's always nice to meet someone new. Change can be wonderful, can't it?" _My face fell slightly. Shifting into a more comfortable position, I sighed.

"Not always. Sometimes it's just too much." She lightly stroked my fingers with sympathy. She was cold, but her affectionate touch more than made up for it.

_"Oh yes of course! Too much change can be scary, but it can also be an adventure! Whether it be good or bad, every new experience is worth something." _Knowing how much older than me she was, I took her wise words to heart. She continued on to ask, _"I don't mean to pry, but may I ask why you were crying earlier?"_

My eyes glazed over with sorrow. I nodded softly. "I guess you could say I'm homesick."

"_Oh! You poor dear! Is it very hard?"_ I let my eyes fall closed as another tear made its way down my face.

"Yes," I whispered. I wanted to be strong. I wanted to be able to tell her that I could handle it, but I could not lie to her. I felt so weak, so isolated. Without my desert, what was I?

"_Oh, it must be so lonely. I understand. It's the same reason that makes me dislike winter."_ I looked at her with a glint of curiosity in my eye.

"Does winter make you homesick too?" I asked.

"_Oh no, dear, you see, I've been all over this world. Earth is my home. Right now, I'm quite content to stay in this playground, but winter is such a lonely time. It's too cold for all of my children to play with me." _

"Your children."

"_Oh, yes, dear. You should come here during the summer months. The children all come and they play with me. Oh it's wonderful to have so much company. Simply wonderful. But now, I've frozen over. It will be months before they return."_ I lightly pat her.

"I see," I began. "Well, I'll be here for awhile, so I'll be sure to come visit whenever I can."

"_Oh, that would be most wondrous! Indeed it would!"_ she cried, agreeing with herself.

"Can I ask a question?"

"_Why, of course, dear."_

"Do you remember much about your home?" She grew quiet. I was worried that maybe I had asked a taboo question.

"_Well, that is a rather difficult question. You see, dear, I've had many homes, but if you are referring to my original home, then yes, I do recall it. I'm a lot older than I look, dear. You see, the first thing I remember was the ocean."_

"The ocean?" I echoed, a bit shocked at her origins.

"_I used to live near a more shallow part of the ocean. You'll have to excuse me, dear, the details are rather fuzzy. But I don't believe we had much land yet, here on Earth that is. Oh, it seems I'll have to think about this more. We may have to save this for another day."_ I didn't really hear anything after "I don't believe we had much land yet." I gaped at her. Had she really been living since primordial Earth? When there was only water? I had never really asked my friends back home their age. I mean I knew they were old, but not _that_ old. _"You know, dear,"_ she began. I snapped back to reality as I felt a sudden gust of wind upwards, and she danced around me, spiraling. She laughed as she settled back down. _"Something about you reminds me of home." _

Smiling playfully, I added, "I should be saying the same thing to you." It was true. Talking to the sand here did remind me of home. I may not have been able to speak to the desert anymore, but at least I had a piece of home here in Konoha. No matter where I went, I would always have my sand.

"_May I ask your name?"_ she inquired. I nodded, brushing a deep ruby lock behind my ear.

"Gaara. My name is Gaara."

All right, I'm going to stop here. Well? Questions? Comments? Criticism? Even if you have none, I hope you enjoyed chapter one. Until next time. Sorry if you're confused.I'll try to work on that if so.


	2. Shikamaru

**Yes, time for another chapter. I can't guarantee when I'll update, but I'll try to do it at least once a week, and if things start to get hectic (like with finals) or if I have writer's block, I'll let you know. Since it's winter break though, I think I'll be updating a lot more often (seriously, twice in two days?) Okay, so enjoy! Oh, and btw, is it just me, or is my style really different between the two chapters. **

**Chapter 2: Shikamaru**

My older sister always used to tell me how I needed more human friends. As a child, I thought she was nuts. I thought that it was just her ignorance of the sand. She couldn't talk to my friends, like I could, so she didn't understand. My friends protected me and talked to me. They gave me company when I was alone. They gave me good advice. They loved me. I didn't need other people; I had my sand. But as I grew, I started to realize the truth behind her words.

It was during my freshman year when I realized that my sand was well…sand. When I needed to talk about human issues, my friends could never answer. We were from two different worlds. There were so many things I wanted to talk about but couldn't. After the feeling of being alienated from my friends reached its peak, I knew I had to try to make some human friends, and my sand agreed. But it was far too late. No one my age wanted to talk to "that freak who talks to the desert." For the first time since I had spoken to the sand, I was alone. And then we moved. It was true; I had a fresh start.

That day, when I made my first friend in Konoha, I knew that things were turning out just like they did in Suna. I took a seat on one of the swings, enjoying the company of the sand there. Neither of us said anything after I told her my name, but I knew that she too was glad to have someone with her. I sat there lost in thought, my eye cast downwards, swinging back and forth just slightly. By this point I had given up all hope of getting to school on time. I knew my sister would be angry with me, but I just sat there.

"Hey," called a voice. A male voice, slightly nasally. This voice echoed in my ears, not my head; it had to be another human. I looked up, only to find a boy staring at me curiously from a few feet away. I had no idea how he could have snuck up on me like that. It was almost as if he emerged from the nearby shadows. Maybe he was a shadow. He had a bored, tired look in his eye, and a similar air around him.

He came closer, taking a seat on the swing next to me. That was something that I wasn't used to. No one wanted to approach me, _ever._ I think he could tell I was nervous. He seemed to think for awhile before he continued on to say, "You're in my spot." I gave him a slightly surprised look. His spot? "I come here everyday to look at the clouds. But then again, it would be kinda pointless right now." He gestured to the completely overcast sky. I nodded but said nothing. My only real conversations had been with "inanimate" objects. What was I supposed to say to a human? "I usually sit in the swing you're sitting in." His attempt at a conversation wasn't working to say the least. I was looking down, but out of the corner of my eye I saw him staring at me, smiling slightly. "Not much of a talker, are you?" I shrugged keeping my gaze down. "Fair enough." He sighed, "conversations are troublesome anyway."

For awhile, a silence took hold of the area. The only sounds being the wind as it blew through the trees. I sighed. There were too many trees in this place; I just wasn't used to it. Even though you couldn't tell where one cloud began and another ended, the boy next me continued to stare at the sky, obviously, finding something worth looking at up there in that big white mass. He seemed very mundane with a black track jacket, grey shirt, and jeans, but something about him just seemed odd.

Maybe it was the way he wore his hair up in a ridiculously high ponytail, or maybe it was the fact that he seemed to have a piercing fetish, with several piercings on each ear, and even one on his bottom lip. To this day, I'm not quite sure what made him so strange to me, but I do know that it was a good kind of strange. He caught my eye.

"You're new around here." It wasn't a question. Konoha High was big, so I was surprised that he automatically knew that I was a transfer student.

"Yeah," I confirmed softly. He didn't make a big deal out of the fact that it was the first word I had ever said to him. He just nodded.

"You miss your old town." Once again, not a question.

"How did you know?" He pointed to his cheek.

"Tear tracks. And your eyes are red. I knew that you've crying, and I knew you were new in town, so I made a clever assumption." At that, I quickly wiped the evidence from my face.

"Isn't that dangerous?" I retorted.

"Only when I'm wrong, and I'm usually right, but I suppose everyone has their off days." I gave it a try myself.

"You like piercings." The question-mark was absent. He grinned.

"Okay, first of all that was too easy, and second of all, I only do this because of peer pressure." It was strange, but I found myself chuckling. "I swear, Choji thinks they look cool, so he makes me get them. So troublesome."

"Is there anything in it for you?" He shrugged.

"It's just a piercing. It's not as though having it or not having it makes a significant difference in my life. So I thought, why not?" It was an interesting way of thinking.

"I think you should get a chain that connects the piercing in your right earlobe to the one in your lip," I suggested blatantly. He chuckled.

"That sounds…interesting. Why not? Actually, I'm getting an industrial this weekend. You should come." My eyes widened slightly. He seemed to notice this, but said nothing. Was this for real? Had someone just asked me to "hang out"?

"You…really want me too?" I asked stunned. He seemed wary of my reaction, but replied with a simple, "Sure." This had to be some sort of trick. No one ever wanted to be around me. Sometimes, I even wondered if my siblings wanted to be around me. What if someone was playing a sick, cruel joke on me? As these thoughts reeled through my brain, suddenly, his philosophy came to mind.

"Why not," I said. He blinked.

"I just converted someone. Fantastic." I smiled playfully. This was the first time I'd even come close to smiling around humans. Well aside from my siblings, I guess. "By the way, this is probably important: I'm Shikamaru." I stared at him quizzically before realizing that I just agreed to go out on a weekend and watch a guy whose name I didn't even know get an industrial done. I sighed. This was the most unorthodox relationship ever.

"Gaara," I said simply. He nodded. "Um…Shikamaru…aren't we really late?" He shrugged.

"Well, _I _am, but unless you're taking a class before school, like me, you're not."

"Before school?"

"Yeah, there are a couple of classes that you can take in the morning, before school starts so that you have more time to do other stuff during the day. You must have read the schedule wrong. You still have forty-five minutes." I gaped at him. "Yeah, I hate that feeling of knowing I can be asleep right now too."

"Wait, why aren't you in class then?"

"I take gym, Gaara. Before school gym. I'm never in class. I don't think I've ever even met my teacher." I smiled softly, shaking my head at him. It happened again; I smiled because of another human.

"Don't they get pissed?" Shikamaru chuckled.

"Oh, they used to, but after three years of this, they gave up. The only reason I'm taking it before school is because the troublesome administration is making me take an art class this year."

"Oh. So you're a junior." He nodded. It was strange. For some reason, I had this feeling that he was my age, but I guess I was wrong.

"If you're wondering why I seem younger than that, it's because I moved up a year. I only recently turned sixteen." He made it seem like it wasn't a big deal, so I didn't pry.

"Shikamaru? Would you mind showing me around the school a little?" I had never heard myself sound this shy before. It was so unlike me. In fact, nothing I had done this morning was like me. This place was changing me and not even slowly either. He sighed.

"Sounds troublesome. But I'll do it because I like you." We each got off of our respective swings, and he led me away from the park towards the school. Behind me I could feel my friend the sand watching us. I knew that she was smiling. Turning around briefly, I smiled back. Shikamaru saw this but said nothing.

**Okay, so there you go. I hope you had fun with it. I know it was an interesting place to leave off, but I have a tendency to do that. Expect cliffhangers eventually though. **


	3. My Unnecessary PDA for the Day

**Wow, so we've actually made it past the playground….it only took us two chapters. Wow. I suck at this whole plot thing, don't I? Oh well. Yeah so, the first day is probably going to take about 6 chapters ….wonderful. Expect this to be a long fic with short chapters. Fair enough? Okay it's tour time Gaara. Oh, just a warning, but I'm basing Konoha High off of my high school (it's the only one I know), and my high school's a little weird, so let me know if you're confused about the structure of the school. **

**Chapter 3: My Unnecessary PDA for the Day**

Sometimes I feel like Grendel. You know like that book by John Gardner. I hated that book. It really had a way of hitting way too close to home. When I read that book, towards the middle of my sophomore year, I would often find myself, lying in the darkest corner of the halls, questioning my own existence. I'm a monster, at least that's what my father used to tell me. At the age of six I adopted existentialism as my main philosophy. The world and everyone around it existed for the soul purpose of proving my own existence. I push against the world, and the world pushes against me as Gardner puts it. If no one acknowledged me, they became my tools for existing. Yeah, that book really had a way of hitting too close to home.

Shikamaru used to find me all curled up in my corner. He wouldn't do much, except sit next to me. That was just the way he was. He didn't waste energy trying to comfort me; he just sat next to me, waiting for the day that I sought him out. After awhile he'd say, "I see you're not a nihilist yet." I'd laugh dryly, and the two of us would go outside to meet Choji.

That day, when Shikamaru gave me the "full" tour, I think that he spent more time showing me the outside of the school than the inside. About a block away from the school, there is a street corner. It reeks of smoke. Cigarettes haphazardly thrown to the ground and put out. There was a man there. Bearded with a cigarette between his teeth, smoke flowed like a river from his open mouth. "There are usually more here," said Shikamaru, "But it's too early. This is the Cancer Corner. The smokers hang out over here. It's off school grounds, and there are too many of them for the administration to handle." I nodded. "That's Asuma. He's my bio teacher." We passed the man. "Hey, Asuma," Shikamaru greeted. I inclined my head slightly.

"You know, most kids call me Asuma-sensei," he hinted. Shikamaru shrugged.

"Too troublesome." Asuma sighed.

"See you third period." Shikamaru waved listlessly and led me past the last block to Konoha High. The school looked like any ordinary school, well, except super-sized. Brick walls to keep us in and the world out. Four floors of hell (five if you count the basement). Oh, and a lovely courtyard out front. Lovely in spring that is. Old man winter had a way of killing pretty flowers. There were a couple trees still…a couple dead-looking trees…but trees nonetheless.

"Gaara, forget all about natural light for the next three years. Those windows you see only appear in about five percent of all the classrooms. Even if you have windows, they don't really let in much light." I stared at him blankly. So I was going to have to feed off fluorescence for the next three years. Fantastic. "By the way," he continued, "There's this book, _A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich_…"

"You mean the one about the Soviet prison camp?"

"Yeah. That one. Basically that is your life from now on." I stared at him, befuddled. "I mean you'll be living life day by day…well, at least the food's better here." Not knowing what else to do, I chuckled. He took me through the courtyard. "So, this is the courtyard. Choji and I like to come out here and stare at the clouds. You should try it sometime. Though it is better once everything's not dead." Once again, I was reminded of how green the grass would be in the spring here; how the flowers would bloom everywhere. I recalled a rather large shrine I saw on the car ride here.

"Hey, Shikamaru, I saw a shrine on the way here…"

"That's the Hyuuga Shrine. It's a nice place to pray and buy charms. It's a troublesome tourist trap in the summer though. The head priest goes to school here." My eyes widened a fraction.

"He's our age?" A teenage head priest…that's something you don't here about everyday.

"Yeah, he's a junior and in my History class. Doesn't talk much. I really don't know the circumstances behind him becoming head priest though-" I cut him off.

"Let me guess: too troublesome to ask." A smile crossed Shikamaru's face.

"You're getting good. Well, anyway, I know his cousin too. She's also goes here. A sophomore." I nodded. "All right, I'm cold. Let's go inside." He led me through the two sets of double doors into what I would later know as the first floor rotunda. I guessed that this part of the school would get very busy come three thirty.

"Give me your schedule." Gaara absentmindedly handed him said paper. "Okay, let's see, schedule of Gaara…" He looked up from the paper, trailing off. Gaara sighed, knowing exactly what was wrong.

"Don't bother trying with the last name. No one can pronounce it.**(1)**" Shikamaru nodded.

"Fair enough. We'll just pretend you don't have one." Gaara's schedule read as follows:

**Konoha Township High School Schedule**

**Student: **Gaara (Last name Omitted for the sake of the readers)

**Gender:** male

**I.D. Number:** 20108742

**CourseTeacherRm.**

Homeroom-Itachi Uchiha451

1. History-Sarutobi430

2. Pre-Calculus-Kimimaro Kaguya486

3. Physical Education-Ibiki MorinoGYM

4. Free (Tues. Thurs. Fri.)-

4. Chemistry (Mon. Wed.)-Orochimaru125

5. Chemistry-Orochimaru164

6. Lunch-CAF

7. German-Kurenai Yuuhi279

8. English-Kakashi Hatake015

9. Photo-Sasori024

Shikamaru nodded to himself as he looked over the schedule. "All right, here are the answers to a couple questions you might be asking yourself. First of all, there are two fours on your sheet because on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays you have a free period, but on Mondays and Wednesdays you have a double period of chemistry. So on free period days, you do whatever the hell you want, and then go to room 164 fifth period, but on lab days, you go straight to 125 for fourth period and fifth period." Shikamaru paused, looking me in the eye as if asking me, "Got it?" I looked from him to my schedule.

"I don't get it." He shrugged.

"You'll figure it out. As far as teachers go…you're screwed until German." I stared at him blankly.

"Why do you say that?" At this point, I was hoping to god that he was kidding, but Shikamaru didn't seem like much of a kidder. "Too troublesome," as he would say.

"Actually, now that I think about it, you'll probably get along with Itachi. Whatever, it's not like your homeroom teacher's all that important until you start looking for colleges. Sarutobi is a decent guy, and I'm pretty sure he was a good teacher back in the day, but he's obscenely old, so beware of senility. Kimimaro is a great teacher, but not a people person. Plus everyone's too scared of him to say anything in his classes anyway." I sighed.

"Dare I ask why?"

"Knowing your math teacher can take out his own spine and beat you with it isn't a very comforting feeling." I gaped at him, slightly unsure of what he meant, but also too scared to ask. "Ibiki is fun for team sports, but don't cross him…_ever_. He used to be an interrogator for the FBI. God knows how he ended up here, but that also makes for an interesting Health teacher. You're going to have fun with that next semester. And then we have Orochimaru. Don't even get me started on that nutcase. If you let him know that you have Kimimaro though, that might get you on his good side. They like each other. I'd say, watch your back with him. Oh, and, never let yourself be alone with him. Generally not a good idea. Okay, then the rest of the day should be fair. Kurenai I've heard can be strict, but it's easy to get on her good side, and if you do, you'll have a really good year. I've never had her myself, but I see her a lot with Asuma. Kakashi is another nutcase, but he's a good kind of nutcase. Never expect him to be punctual for one. He's a tough grader, but he judges you more on how you are as a person rather than how good you are at English. I think you'll have a good year with him; he's probably the best English teacher in the school at this point. Okay, and you're last teacher I don't know much about-"

"That's okay," I cut in. "He's my cousin. He's who I'm staying with in Konoha." So, I had Sasori as a photo teacher. After my father died, and my siblings and I were left without much of home, Sasori and his boyfriend offered to take us in. I suppose you could say they're my legal guardians.

As usual, Shikamaru didn't question circumstance. He just nodded. "Okay, so…the rest of the tour," he began. "Cafeteria's that way," he said pointing to his left, "if you keep going that way, you'll find the auditorium. The Gym is that way." He pointed to the right. "There are staircases everywhere. And the only ones that lead to all five floors are the ones next to us," he gestured to either side, "and the one down that hall." He pointed straight. "Okay, tour's over. Let's go do something less productive." I think this was the first time I had ever openly gawked at someone so many times in one day. So, that was the tour. Gesturing in the general direction of things. I suppose that I asked for this when I suggested that the laziest guy in the school show me around. "Come on," this time he gestured for me to follow him. We went down the left hallway.

"Where are we going?" He shrugged.

"Debate room."

"You're a debater?!" I shouted. How could anyone so lazy be on the debate team? At least, that's what I thought, until I found out the intricacies of policy debate. Everyone's lazy there. All you need is a good brain, and a low work ethic for everything else.

"Yup. Been taking policy for two years now. If you ever need to find me, I'll most likely be up there. Well…if I'm not in class." Lethargic as he was, Shikamaru had to be the nicest guy I'd ever met at the time (well I suppose that's not saying much). He basically just offered to help me whenever I needed it. How long had he known me? A half-hour. This was just unheard of for me.

"Could I watch you sometime?" I found myself asking. He turned around. "Debate…I mean." I fidgeted a bit, feeling rather stupid. Being as observant as he was, Shikamaru noticed.

"Sure," he answered simply, "I'll bring you to a practice round sometime." As we went to turn a corner, to enter a stairwell, I stopped. I could have sworn I heard a voice. In fact, it may have been two voices. They were soft; I could make out their inflections but not the actual words.

"Do you hear that?" I whispered. We quieted. After a second of careful listening, he nodded. It was coming from the other side of the hall. I swiftly made my way over to the noise, Shikamaru trailing behind me, before stopping again at an open classroom where the voices were the loudest. I could here what they were saying now. I kept close to the wall, and as stealthily as possible, peered around the corner into the classroom.

There were two boys. Well one of them was definitely a guy, but the other was…ambiguous to put it delicately. The only real indication that he was a guy being the flat chest, though he did have a rather masculine face. The taller of the two was facing at a bad angle, so I couldn't see his face. He had a mop of shiny black hair in a bowl cut, and from what I could tell, toned arms. That was about all I could see. The other was facing my direction, so I saw nearly all of him. From his dark umber tresses reaching down to his hips, to his pale, pearl-like eyes. He had porcelain skin, not unlike my own, and a slim figure. And his expression was contorted into one of pure distress.

The two of them were in close proximity. Too close to be normal. Bowl-cut had one arm around his companion's waist, while the other hand was entangled in the other's dark locks. He leaned over him. The brunette was seemingly refusing to make eye contact with him.

"Neji," began Bowl-cut softly, "please, we-" "Neji" cut him off.

"No, Lee," he denied. "We can't."

"Why not?! We both love each other!" Neji shook his head.

"We've been through this. I decided after _that_ happened; I can't get involved with anyone." The boy known as "Lee" began shaking Neji slightly.

"Neji, this isn't about what happened. This is about us! This is about _you_ being _happy_!" Neji looked up at him, taken aback, but quickly regained his composure.

"There are more important things than my happiness right now," he whispered. Lee placed a hand on his cheek, before pulling him into a rough kiss. Neji didn't fight it.

Shikamaru and I tore ourselves away from the scene, blushing madly. I wasn't too sure about myself, but Shikamaru was beet red. We didn't turn back to the scene until Neji shouted, "I can't!" before sprinting off. Lee skidded into the hall after him, but by the time he got out of the classroom, Neji was already too far away to catch up. Lee punched the nearest locker yelling, "DAMMIT!" Luckily, through his anger, Lee didn't notice the two of us slinking away.

Shikamaru led me back to the main hallway. "Uh…that was…uh…" I stuttered. Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah." We met each other's eye for a moment unsure of what to say. "School's staring soon. I'll take you to your homeroom," he suggested. It was going to be a long day.

**And there you have it. So, finally someone else besides Shikamaru and Gaara, right?**

**(1)- Okay, so a lot of fanfic writers make Gaara's last name "Sabaku" or "Sabakuno" but I always thought that Sabaku no Gaara was more of a title than a surname, so I decided to make Gaara's surname unpronounceable therefore, no one will ever say it, since in reality no one really knows what Gaara's surname is. Just think of it as a running joke. **


	4. Note

**Hello, 5 or 6 people who actually spent the time keeping up with my fic (I thank you so much for doing so btw). I'm sorry I haven't updated in months, and I really know that if you enjoyed it and want to see another chapter, this author's note is probably the last thing you want to see. Okay, here's the deal. This fic sucks. 'Nough said. There are point of view shifts everywhere, and, half of the time, I make Gaara out to sound like Holden Caulfield (those of you who read my profile know how much I hate that). So I'm going to revisit this fic. I'm not going to give you a time of when to expect it, but check my profile every once and a while, and it might just be there. I'm going to try and get the knew chapter up soon (the fic will be under a different title). So here's a few things you might notice about the revisited version. **

**No more point of view shifts- I'm sticking with third person, so those of you who suffered through **_**Catcher in the Rye**_** won't have to suffer through me too. Also, I'm pretty sure that Gaara will be the main focus, but I'm planning on doing 3****rd**** person omniscient, so the focus might jump around.**

**I'm going to try and edit it. Hopefully then it won't suck quite as much. **

**You probably also noticed that Gaara's personality seemed to change every chapter…there's going to be a reason for that now…yayz. I'm probably not starting with the first day either, in true Naruto style…there will be flashbacks**

**The structure is going to be a little weird, so feel free to review me with something like "What the hell just happened?" **

**Well, that's about it, sorry to take up so much of your time. Hope to update soon!**

** Kaiser. **


	5. Finally!

**Hey everybody! I finally finished the first chapter of the revised version of this fic, so come check out my profile, and the story should be listen as "Neighborhood #2" Kay? Thanks!**


End file.
